Litigation Career Guide

Litigation covers a broad range of dispute types. The main categories you are likely to encounter are:

• Civil And commercial litigation

• Disputes between businesses or between businesses and individuals, including contract, tort, professional negligence and insolvency matters.

• Property And landlord/Tenant disputes

• Possession claims, boundary disputes, lease disputes and dilapidations claims.

• Family And private Law disputes

• Financial remedy proceedings, children proceedings and contested injunctions.

• Clinical negligence And personal injury

• Claims for loss arising from injury, medical error or accidents.

• Public Law And judicial review

• Challenges to public bodies' decisions, often involving complex points of administrative law.

• Criminal Litigation

• Defence practises and Crown Prosecution work; solicitors here often specialise in advocacy and case preparation for magistrates' courts and Crown Court hearings.

Typical tasks for litigators include:

• Case assessment and advice: Evaluating claims, advising clients on risk, costs and likely outcomes.

• Pleadings and court documents: Drafting claim forms, particulars of claim, defences, counterclaims and applications.

• Disclosure and evidence management: Conducting electronic and paper disclosure, managing documents and preparing witness statements.

• Advocacy and hearings: Running interim hearings, trials, settlement conferences and appearing at standard directions hearings (or preparing advocates/barristers).

• Settlement and ADR: Negotiation, mediation and other forms of alternative dispute resolution to resolve matters without trial.

Practical example: In a commercial breach of contract case you might draft a letter before action, prepare a claim form and particulars, manage disclosure using e-disclosure platforms, draft and settle witness statements, advise the client on settlement offers and instruct counsel for a final trial hearing.

Litigation follows a predictable lifecycle though the timing varies with case complexity. A typical workflow looks like this:

• Pre-action

• Conduct initial client interview and take instructions.

• Send pre-action letter or schedule of loss. Consider limitation issues and gather documents.

• Issuing Proceedings

• Draft and issue claim forms and particulars. Serve documents and manage communications.

• Case management And disclosure

• Prepare lists of documents and conduct disclosure exercises. Use bundles and e-bundling tools for hearings.

• Witness statements And experts

• Draft witness statements, prepare expert instructions and manage exchange of expert reports.

• Interim applications And settlement

• Apply for interim relief (injunctions, freezing orders) and engage in settlement discussions or mediation.

• Trial And judgment

• Prepare skeleton arguments, bundles and run the hearing. Follow up with enforcement proceedings if necessary.

Day-to-day duties vary widely but commonly include:

• Client calls and updates to manage expectations and maintain the solicitor-client relationship.

• Drafting letters, pleadings, disclosure schedules and witness statements.

• Legal research on procedural and substantive points (use of Westlaw, LexisNexis or BAILII for precedent).

• Liaising with counsel, experts and opposing solicitors.

Practical strategy: Keep a litigation diary for every matter. Log deadlines (limitation periods, ADR windows, hearing dates) and allocate preparatory milestones back from court dates. Use the diary to populate a training contract tracker or paralegal workload planner.

Certain technical and interpersonal skills are essential. Focus your development on the following:

• Legal And procedural knowledge

• Master the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR), Practice Directions and relevant practice notes for your area. Understand evidence rules, limitation, costs rules and case management powers.

• Drafting And written advocacy

• Produce crisp, persuasive drafting: letters before action, pleadings, witness statements and skeleton arguments. Practice reducing complex issues into bullet points for court bundles.

• Oral advocacy And negotiation

• Hone courtroom presence and negotiation techniques. Participate in moots, client negotiation simulations and mediation role-plays.

• Case management And organisation

• Coordinate multi-party matters, manage disclosure exercises and keep clear chronologies. Familiarity with e-bundling (CaseLines), e-disclosure (Relativity/Nuix) and practice management software helps.

• Client-Facing And commercial skills

• Explain risk and costs succinctly. Build commercial awareness of the client's sector to advise on settlement versus litigation strategies.

• Resilience And time management

• Litigation can be deadline-driven and adversarial; develop prioritisation and stress-management techniques.

Example exercise: Draft a two-page chronology and a skeleton argument for a hypothetical breach of contract within a strict 90-minute timed exercise. This trains concise writing and prioritisation for hearings.

The litigation route offers varied progression options depending on the sector and firm type:

• Private practice progression

• Trainee Solicitor to Associate/Senior Associate to Partner. City commercial litigation teams often require expertise in complex multi-jurisdictional disputes; regional firms may offer earlier client contact and fee-earning responsibility.

• In-House And public sector

• In-house legal teams, local authority litigation, government departments or regulatory bodies offer roles managing the employer's disputes and instructing external counsel.

• Specialist roles And transfers

• Costs lawyer, claims handler, ADR specialist, or transferring to the Bar via pupillage or the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) routes for advocacy-focused careers.

• Alternative legal careers

• Judicial clerks, tribunal judges, or roles in compliance, dispute resolution firms and legal publishing.

Example pathway: A trainee focusing on commercial litigation may secure secondments to a client's disputes team, become a junior associate running smaller trials within 3-4 years and specialise in insolvency litigation or appellate work as they progress to senior associate.

Breaking into litigation requires targeted preparation and demonstrable experience. Use these practical steps:

1. Gain relevant experience

2. Work as a paralegal in a litigation department, take temporary roles through legal agencies or volunteer at free legal clinics and pro bono schemes.

3. Participate in moots, negotiation competitions and university pro bono clinics to develop advocacy and client interviewing skills.

4. Tailor applications And Use evidence

5. Use STAR-style answers (Situation, Task, Action, Result) focused on litigation skills - for example, describe drafting a witness statement under a tight deadline and the outcome.

6. Include metrics where possible (number of documents reviewed, number of witness statements prepared) but avoid unsupported claims.

7. Prepare For assessment centres And interviews

8. Practice role-play exercises and written advocacy tasks. Simulate a 30-minute client interview and a 90-minute drafting test.

9. Read sample skeleton arguments and witness statements. Be ready to discuss recent cases or developments relevant to the firm's practice area.

10. Study And technical preparation

11. Build practical knowledge of the CPR and key case law. Learn to use e-disclosure and e-bundling tools; many firms test familiarity in interviews.

12. If pursuing the SQE, use question banks, practice materials and revision schedules. YourLegalLadder, law school providers and training firms offer SQE question banks and mock assessments.

13. Network Strategically

14. Attend chambers and firm events, follow litigators on LinkedIn and request informational interviews with junior solicitors. Use firm profiles and market intelligence from sources such as YourLegalLadder, Chambers Student and LawCareers.Net to target approaches.

15. Build A litigation portfolio

16. Keep examples of drafting (redacted), chronologies, skeleton arguments and client correspondence you have produced. This portfolio helps in interviews and assessment centres.

Checklist (three-month intensive plan):

• Month One: Secure a paralegal or volunteering role; begin daily CPR study and join a moot or mediation competition.

• Month Two: Draft and refine two sample witness statements and one skeleton argument; compile a casework portfolio; attend a networking event.

• Month Three: Apply to training contracts or paralegal vacancies with tailored applications; practice role-plays and mock interviews with a mentor.

Useful resources: YourLegalLadder (training contract tracker, firm profiles, SQE tools), LawCareers.Net, Chambers Student, The Law Society guidance, BAILII for cases, and technical platforms like Westlaw and LexisNexis for substantive research. For practical tech skills, familiarise yourself with CaseLines, Relativity and common practice management systems used in firms.

Final tip: Litigation rewards demonstrable evidence of advocacy, organisation and commercial thinking. Build a record of real tasks, reflect on learning from each matter and practise the two skills clients value most: clear risk assessment and persuasive argumentation.